IIS 7.0 Learns a Few Tricks from Apache

MS always copied from others but never acknowledged it. Even worse, they always tried their best to hide it by "funding analysts" to convince and make it look like it was their own innovation. Now they acknowledge it to say "See, we can do what FOSS can, no need to move".

Next we are going to see breaking IE, DM and other apps from the OS. They feel their bloat and they are going to modularize. Time will tell.

I don't think they'll break some of those apps - they allow Microsoft to control your computer, and that control they are loath to give up.

Or in Microsoft-speak, those tied-in apps "enhance" your computer experience.

I don't disagree with your points. They are exactly why MS used this strategy. MS started to realize that this approach is beginning to hurt them, so they are asking themselves the question "What to do?". They have gotten their system so big and applications so interwind, they are having difficulty managing and maintaining a good level of reliability. Most of all, it is getting very expensive to support. Their system is starting to break under its own wait. One area they are having trouble with is embedded systems, that requires very small footprint. So how do you expect them to be efficient in this area if they don't reduce the system size? So far they have been creating a new system for every purpose, that is not sustainable.

"So far they have been creating a new system for every purpose, that is not sustainable."

If I understand the development of Windows, you have just described their dilemma.

Windows is not terribly scalable. (Try running XP on a Pentium II.) It's been blodged together in such a way that to remove extra, bloaty parts of the program can easily break non-related but essential other parts of the OS.

The alternative to creating a new system for each new purpose, is to rewrite the entire OS from the word "go", cleaning up the code to isolate the various functions ("modularize") and make them removable in situations where they're not required. In other words, turn it into a type of Linux.

The question is, can they actually swallow their pride enough to re-examine their design philosophy? It would be like turning an aircraft carrier - it can be done, but it will take a great deal of time, effort, and executive-level leadership. While I can't read Bill Gates' and Steve Ballmer's minds (thank God), I haven't seen any evidence that they've decided to move in this direction.